


Do Not You Love Me?

by secrettemplars (tricycleamoving)



Series: Really Into You [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Agender Akashi, Agender Character, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Genderqueer Character, Genderqueer Furihata, Original Character(s), Other, POV Third Person, References to Shakespeare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-13
Updated: 2015-04-13
Packaged: 2018-03-22 15:49:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3734551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tricycleamoving/pseuds/secrettemplars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Thank you," Akashi said, neatly folding their hands over their lap, "I got your email."</i>
  <br/>
  <i>"Oh, yes, about that-" Furihata started.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>"I would love to help you out with your drama class," Akashi said, a polite smile on their lips.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>"-I totally understand if you're too busy to help- wait uhm," Furihata said, stumbling over his words, "You'll do it?"</i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> An akafuri "I’m the drama teacher and you’re the only who can actually act help me demonstrate this love scene to my students" au. Written for akafuri day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do Not You Love Me?

**Author's Note:**

> orz im back with a new akafuri fic because people on the internet come up with amazing prompts and i can't keep myself away from them
> 
> Prompt:  
>  _[I’m the drama teacher and you’re the only who can actually act help me demonstrate this love scene to my students au](http://xaquaangelx.tumblr.com/post/102121624270/high-school-teachers-aus-no-wonder-why-youre)_. 
> 
> As per usual, I have genderqueer Furihata (he/him/his) and agender Akashi (they/them/theirs), so please keep that in mind while reading, and adhere to these pronouns if you decide to leave a comment! I know not everyone hcs the two of them as nonbinary, but that's how they're written in this fic and i'd like for that decision to be respected. 
> 
> I'm still not too sure how I feel about this fic, but I meant for it to be written for akafuri day, so here it is! As usual, I have around twenty thousand notes to give out at the end of the fic, especially since I have Shakespeare in this fic and I cannot shut up about his plays. I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> Written while listening to "[First Date/Last Night](https://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=Z9UeT5ANT6o)" from the Dogfight original cast recording.

 

> _Hi Akashi,_
> 
> _I know we haven't talked much, but one of my students mentioned that you were "pretty rad at acting", and I was hoping that you would be able to help act out a quick 5-minute play with me for one of my classes? Since it's a class made up of mostly beginners every Tuesday at ten, I really need someone who can act well and set a standard for them._
> 
> _As head of Economics, I know you probably have a lot on your plate right now, so if you aren't able to help out I totally get it. I hope you'll be able to help out though, and I await your reply!_
> 
> _Thanks,_  
>  _Furihata Kouki_  
>  _Drama Department_
> 
>  

* * *

 

 

" _I wonder that you will still be talking, Signior Benedick; nobody marks you_ ," said Kagawa, twirling her pencil in her hand as she squinted down at the script.

" _What, my dear... lady disdain_ ," Masuda said afterwards, " _are you yet... living?_ "

"Kagawa, Masuda," Furihata interrupted, lips twisting in disappointment, "I thought you said that you had run through this scene before class."

Looking at his two students standing aimlessly on the stage, scripts clutched in their hands like a lifeline, Furihata sighed and scratched at the back of his head. Don't get him wrong, he loved his ten o'clock class to death, but sometimes they frustrated the _life_ out of him. Standing up from his seat in the theatre, he walks up to the stage until he's right in front of Kagawa and Masuda.

"Kagawa, though you have most of your lines down, you're not putting a lot of emotion into your words," he said, looking at Kagawa as she continued to fiddle with her pencil, "and Masuda, you're not reading your lines at the correct pace."

"Look, I know it's almost midterms week and drama class isn't exactly the first thing on your mind," he said, letting out a sigh, "But this class is still important, and I _really_ don't want to have to give you a bad grade either. So can we _please_ put in some extra time before class to run through your lines?"

"Yes, Furihata-sensei," they said (well, Kagawa shouted it and Masuda mumbled it, so it technically balanced out to something resembling a 'said'). He had a feeling they weren't being awfully sincere, though.

"This goes to you three too," he continued, turning to face the three other students still seated behind him, "Although I know the classwork and stress is piling up, I still need you to at least put some effort into this class. So please, come prepared for class next time."

From the way the three of them refused to look him in the eye, though, he had a feeling they were just as prepared as Kagawa and Masuda were.

"Alright," he said, running a hand through his hair, "Kagawa, Masuda, please just read through your lines for the rest of the scene and take a seat. Oshiro, Kobayashi, Shinsato, you're gonna go up next after they finish. Once we're done, we're going to spend some time reading and understanding what we're reading so we can start thinking of ways to bring more character to our performances, okay?"

This was going to be a _long_ class.

 

* * *

 

Lunch break for Furihata tended to be pretty uneventful. Though the drama department here was really well funded (the principal was very adamant about supporting the arts), the general student population was less enthused, and thus there were very few drama teachers here, much less drama classes to teach. The entire drama department was really Fukuda, Kawahara and him, and each of them only had a handful of classes to teach this semester.

In fact, this year the amount of students signing up for beginner-level classes were much lower than usual, so he only had two classes (and around twelve students) to teach. Most of them had genuine interest in drama and it was only because of midterms week that they were a bit lacklustre, but there were a few who signed up out of boredom or necessity, and it was hard trying to get people interested in something they didn't care about.

Pausing for a moment to take a bite out of his riceball, Furihata tapped his pencil against his office desk as he tried to brainstorm new ways to get more people interested in drama. The school musical was a pretty good method so far, but liking to _watch_ people sing and act didn't really equal with wanting to _actually_ act sometimes. Hmm, maybe they could try to collaborate with the English department more?

The music blared out of his earphones and into his ears as he jotted down half-formed notes into his notebook.

As lost in his thoughts (and his music) as he was, he didn't even notice the knocking on his door until the aforementioned door opened and a certain red-headed teacher stepped into the office.

"Ah, Akashi!" Furihata exclaimed (and almost choked out), ripping the earbuds out of his ears and quickly swallowing his food, "How can I help you today?"

He blinked owlishly at Akashi as the other teacher looked around for a chair, and quickly stood up and hauled over a chair from the other side of the room for them to sit on.

"Please, sit down," he said, only sitting back down in his seat once Akashi was comfortably sat down in theirs.

"Thank you," Akashi said, neatly folding their hands over their lap, "I got your email."

"Oh, yes, about that-" Furihata started.

"I would love to help you out with your drama class," Akashi said, a polite smile on their lips.

"-I totally understand if you're too busy to help- wait uhm," Furihata said, stumbling over his words, "You'll do it?"

"I believe that's what I just said, Furihata," Akashi replied, eyes flickering with amusement.

"Oh my god. Oh my god, _thank you so much_. You have no idea how much this means to me," Furihata blurted out, pushing his notebook and food to the side of his desk as he pulled out his laptop and folder from his bag, "Let me just get out my stuff, _ow_ , I'm so sorry, I'm usually not this unprepared."

Flipping frantically through his folder, he eventually gets to the page the class was last at and places it atop his laptop on his desk.

"Please, take your time, Furihata," Akashi said, their lips quirking, "My schedule's clear until two, so we have plenty of time to discuss things."

"Oh thank god," Furihata said, letting out a sigh of relief, "It always seems like you're so busy all the time. I felt like I had to rush or something, sorry."

"Being the head of the Economics department does take up a lot of time," Akashi said, shrugging, "But as long as I delegate my tasks well I actually don't have that busy a schedule as people think I do."

"Wow, that still sounds like a lot though," Furihata replied, "The drama department is literally just the three of us, so in terms of admin stuff we don't have much- I mean, we don't even have a head of Drama. I can't imagine the amount of things you have to do."

"Your department does have an... _interesting_ structure to it," Akashi said, before tilting their head slightly, "I do find it curious how different you are in here than you are up on stage presenting to the school, though. You seem a lot more..."

"Confident? Cool? Like I know what I'm doing?" Furihata replied, a wry smile blooming on his face, "I work in the drama department, Akashi, I'm pretty good at acting. I mean, it _is_ kinda what I'm being paid to do."

"Touché," Akashi said.

"Anyway, right now we're focusing on certain scenes from _Much Ado About Nothing_ ," Furihata said, turning the folder around so Akashi could read the opened pages, "I was originally going to ask you to help me out with another scene, but seeing as my class this morning was a bit... lifeless, I think maybe we could work on Benedick and Beatrice's quick banter at the beginning of the play?"

"Just that one snippet?" Akashi asked, leaning forwards to peer at the script, "That's a rather short exchange, don't you think?"

"Well, I did say it wouldn't take long," Furihata replied, "I was thinking, though, that maybe I could have some of my students read out the other characters' lines. It'll be a good way to help them distinguish between reading and acting it out without scripts."

"So we could go from Benedick's entrance and stop when Benedick and Claudio have their discussion about Hero?" Akashi asked, pointing at the script.

"Of _course_ you would know Shakespeare, along with everything else," Furihata said, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly, "But yeah, that sounds like a good plan."

"Alright, do you have any preference in roles? I love Beatrice and Benedick's roles equally, so I don't mind doing either of them." Furihata asked.

"Usually people like to do it through gender," Akashi said, shrugging their shoulders, "But I mean, I'm neither, so that really doesn't settle anything."

"And I'm both and more, depending on the day, so I guess we balance out?" Furihata said, scratching at the back of his head, "I guess if I had to choose I would lean more towards Beatrice, though."

"Which makes me Benedick," Akashi said, that glint of amusement returning to their eyes, "I'm excited to work with you, my dear Lady Disdain."

"Oh my god, and of _course_ you know the lines already, Signior Mountanto," Furihata laughed out, muffling his laughter behind his hands, "I'm very excited as well."

"Well, seeing that we're both in agreement, we should probably decide when we're going to rehearse then," Akashi said, chuckling.

"Honestly I'm free most of the time, so it mostly depends on your own schedule," Furihata said, reaching out for his calendar on the other side of the desk, "Hmm, I'm hoping that we'd be able to perform it sometime next week, so would you happen to be free tomorrow around... two?"

"I have a meeting that ends right at two tomorrow, so that should be good," Akashi said, taking their phone out from their pocket and looking through their own calendar, "I should be free until around three thirty: will that be enough time?"

"It should be plenty of time," Furihata replied, circling the date and time on his calendar with a red sharpie pen, "We'll probably need another session after that one, but I think we'll see how the first rehearsal goes first."

"Sure," Akashi said, typing on their phone before putting it away and standing up, "Well. It's been a pleasure talking with you, Furihata. I'm afraid I have to go prepare for my next class now, but I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Furihata said, standing up as well, before a flush overtook his face as he glanced at the clock on the wall, "I'm so sorry for taking up so much of your time, I really didn't realize how long we've been talking for! I _really_  look forward to working with you tomorrow."

He followed Akashi to the door of the office (which really wasn't that long of a walk, to be honest), and held it open for the other teacher, a smile on his face. Akashi started to walk out, but paused midway and turned back to him, that sly glint in their eye again.

Furihata gulped in response. From his experience, anyone with such a look in their eye was a force to be reckoned with, and was clearly planning something embarrassing enough to make him blush.

" _Fare thee well, my Lady Tongue_ ," Akashi said, before taking his hand in theirs and pressing a soft kiss to the back of his hand, " _I will kiss your hand, and so I leave you_."

With that, Akashi lets go of his hand and turns, striding out of the room with a charming smirk on their face. Furihata stares blankly at Akashi's back as they walk away, cheeks lit up like a furnace during winter.

He was right.

It _was_  embarrassing enough to make him blush.

 

* * *

 

Twenty minutes later, Kawahara strolled into the office and found Furihata mumbling to himself at his desk, his face buried in his hands.

"Woah, what's up?" Kawahara asked, faintly concerned for the teacher's well-being.

"Kawahara," Furihata said, pulling away from his hands to reveal a ridiculously flushed face, "This is bad. Really bad."

"What? Oh my god your face is so red," Kawahara said, "Do you have a fever?"

"No, _worse_ ," Furihata said, before burying his face back in his hands again.

"I think I might have a crush."

 

* * *

 

"Huh, I've never realized how big the auditorium is when there's barely any people in it," Akashi said, looking down at the seats from up upon the stage.

"Yeah, I felt the same way the first few times I had to teach here," Furihata said, hands firmly lodged in his pockets as he stood next to the other teacher, "If you yell loud enough, it even echoes a bit."

"Well, I'll be sure to yell as loud as I can when the next time I'm here, then," Akashi said, lips quirking upwards in amusement, "Even if I am in the presence of the principal."

"Oh god, please don't do that," Furihata said, trying his best to stifle the laughter bubbling up in him, "That would be horrible."

"Horribly entertaining, you mean," Akashi said, raising an eyebrow.

"That too, I guess," Furihata replied with a laugh, glancing at Akashi for a moment before hurriedly looking away, "But mostly just horrible."

"Anyway," Furihata said, clearing his throat, "Let's get started. I was thinking we could start with a quick read-through, then do a warm-up and get to blocking this out?"

"Sounds good," Akashi replied, moving to pull out their copy of the script. Seeing Furihata plop down and sit cross legged on the stage floor, Akashi moved to do the same, sitting right across him.

Since Akashi had the first line in their little banter, Furihata gestured for them to start their line. He looked down at his script and discretely took in a deep, calming breath, trying his best to soothe his racing heart with the printed words on the script. This crush, no matter how little, was affecting him more than he was comfortable with, but he had a job to do and a duty to his students to fulfill, so he tried his best to push it aside and get on with the reading.

Beatrice's line flows from his lips like water, and in that moment he's genuinely relieved that he's studied this play so much that he's essentially memorized this scene. In the back of his mind, he berates himself for letting himself get so hung up on Akashi- what happened to his own professionalism? He never thought that he would _ever_  get this distracted.

By _god_ , they had such beautiful eyes, though.

As they continue their little back-and-forth, he occasionally breaks eye contact with the other teacher too look back down at the script, if only to escape looking at them for just a little while. He could tell that Akashi was getting into the role, though, as even the little smirks that they gave were different, more... asshole-like, he supposes. Which was good, since Benedick in the beginning of the play was like a cocktail of smugness and assholery, and even though the rumours running through the school would suggest that Akashi was at least around 50% asshole, even they would have to crank it up a bit for this performance.

Inwardly, he pinches himself and pushes away his crush to a small corner of his mind- if Akashi was taking his role seriously, he would too. It was time for Beatrice to shine. He would pine over his ridiculous crush later.

By the time he recites Beatrice's last line, Akashi is looking at him with equal parts excitement and... some other unfamiliar emotion (he decides to label it as 'admiration' and not think about it further), and he feels equally as energized. Internal crush conflict aside, there really was something about this play that really got him going, and in that moment he was just unequivocally happy that he got to share this feeling with Akashi. He hoped Akashi felt the same.

"Alright," Furihata said, hopping to his feet and extending out a hand for Akashi to take, "Warm-ups now?"

Akashi nods and takes his hand, letting Furihata help them up. All Furihata can think about is how warm Akashi's hand is in his, how he wouldn't mind having that hand in his all the time.

Then the moment passes and Akashi lets go, and he has to remind himself that he still has a job to do.

"Usually I'd start with a game as a warm-up, but there's only the two of us today so," Furihata said, "Shakedown?"  
  
"Sure," Akashi replied.

The warm-up happens without a hitch (except that he realizes that Akashi was probably a lot fitter than he was), and before long they had to start their actual rehearsal. _Just a bit more_ , Furihata told himself, _Just get through this and you can go scream into a paper bag later_.

"I don't really have much of a plan for how we're going to block," Furihata said, shuffling his feet, "I mean, you know your Shakespeare well, and I don't want to start... forcing my interpretation of this on you, if that makes sense?"

"Then maybe we can start just like this," Akashi replied, gesturing to the stage they were standing on, "We'll just stand across each other like we are now and see where it takes us."

"Since you get the first line, I'll read all the other roles," Furihata said, "Then we can ditch this script."

They fell into silence, both teachers taking a quick moment to prepare and get into character.

"Ready?" Akashi asked, the smug veneer that is so characteristic of Benedick showing on their face. He nods in reply, and takes in another deep breath, before raising the script and reading out the first line.

-

The first run-through was pretty standard. Both he and Akashi knew how to act, that was sure, but it still felt a bit stilted, like they were still testing the waters a little bit. The second run-through was better: there was more movement, a lot more body language and a lot more getting up into each other's faces (which made his heart pound in more ways than one).

" _A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours_ ," Furihata proclaimed, a wry smile on his face as he took a step closer to Akashi.

" _I would my horse had the speed of your tongue, and so good a continuer_ ," Akashi replied, taking a step closer to him with that smug expression on their face again (he didn't know if he wanted to wipe it off their face with a kiss or with his words; perhaps he was getting a bit too into character), " _But keep your way, i' God's name; I have done_."

At that line, Furihata scoffed, before walking away.

" _You always end with a jade's trick_ ," Furihata said bitterly, under his breath, " _I know you of old_."

"End scene?" Akashi asked, after a moment of silence.

"End scene," Furihata confirmed, before glancing at the clock, "And we're almost out of time too, so we should wrap up for today. Again, thank you so much for agreeing to do this! I know I've said it a million times already, but it really means a lot to me."

"It wasn't a hard decision to make," Akashi said, smiling, "And your company certainly makes the whole experience better as well."

"Thank you!" Furihata blurted out, before reaching out to take Akashi's hands in his (even though every fibre of his brain was screaming out not to do it, his body had automatically acted on instinct), "You're very pleasant to work with too!"

For a brief moment, something like surprise flickered through Akashi's eyes, the teacher blinking owlishly at him. All Furihata could feel was the warmth on those hands, though, and the warmth in his cheeks. By the time he realized the full extent of what he was doing, it was already too late, so he could only stand there, hands wrapped around Akashi's while his cheeks turned the colour of the other teacher's hair.

"That's... not something I hear every day," Akashi said, voice still laced with something like surprise and confusion ( _hopefully the good kind_ , Furihata thinks), "But thank you for the compliment."

Neither of them move to leave, and the longer their hands stay in contact, the redder he becomes. If he squints though, he thinks he could see an inkling of pink start to bloom on Akashi's cheeks too.

"Blushing?" Furihata mumbled to himself, but since they were alone in the auditorium, he might as well have shouted it out loud for the other teacher to hear.

"What? No I'm not," Akashi said, looking away as their cheeks turned one shade pinker.

"Oh my god," Furihata said, leaning in closer to get a better look, "You really _are_ blushing."

" _You're_ blushing," Akashi retorted, steadfastly looking at every other spot but him.

"Well- I- That doesn't mean that you're _not_ ," Furihata exclaimed. At this point they're close enough for him to notice the length of Akashi's eyelashes, and his breath nearly hitches in his throat when he sees a very faint smattering of freckles lightly dusting their cheeks. Akashi's eyes are similarly drawn to his, and- wow, were there smecks of gold in Akashi's eyes?

The air was different around them now: he was almost over-conscious of every inhale and exhale Akashi took, the way those enthralling red eyes stared straight into his, the warmth emanating from their hands in his. It would be so _easy_. He could just lean in a little bit closer, close the tiny gap between them and find out just how it feels to have Akashi's lips pressed against his, to have Akashi pressed against him.

Just a little bit closer...

"Hey, Furi, are you done with the stage?" Kawahara exclaimed, bursting in through the auditorium doors. The slamming of the doors jolted a sense of pure panic within him, and in seconds the two of them leapt apart, Akashi clearing their throat as he fiddled with his hands.

"Oh, yeah," he managed to croak out, cheeks still lit up like a lantern, "We were just about to leave. It's all yours."

Picking up the script and clutching it to his chest like a lifeline, he awkwardly bows at Akashi and mumbles out something vaguely sounding like a "see you tomorrow" before hightailing it out of there, not even stopping to look back until he's safe in the refuge of his office. He buries his head in his hands again, embarrassment flooding through his body.

It takes him half an hour of fretting, worrying and alternatively opening up his email and closing it again before he gathers up the courage to type up another email to Akashi.

 

* * *

 

 

> _Hey Akashi!_
> 
> _Sorry about the abrupt end to the rehearsal, but I think we're pretty good overall. I don't think we'll need another rehearsal (unless you want one, of course), so I'll see you next Tuesday at ten?_
> 
> _Thanks,_  
>  _Furihata Kouki_  
>  _Drama Department_
> 
>  

* * *

 

( _Fuck_ , he was a coward.)

 

* * *

 

"Wait, so when you meant crush, you meant _Akashi Seijuurou_?" Kawahara asked, pulling up a chair to the office desk.

"Please don't remind me," Furihata groaned out, resting his head on his desk, "It's bad enough as it is already."

"Look, if it'll make you feel better, it looks like they're pretty into you as well," Kawahara said, resting his head on his hand.

"No they're not," Furihata replied, sighing dejectedly, "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"I'm really not," Kawahara said, "I literally walked into you two gazing into each other's eyes like star-struck lovers while holding each other's hands. That's... kinda hard to fake."

"But it doesn't make _sense_ ," Furihata said, "Why would someone like them ever be interested in someone like me?"

"Well-" Kawahara started.

"Besides, we've only known each other for _two days_ ," Furihata said, "There's no way they'd fall hopelessly in love with me in that short of a time span."

"First of all, no one said it was love, I'm just saying that they might feel _something_  for you the same way you do for them," Kawahara said, before flicking Furihata's head, "Secondly, you gotta give yourself some credit, Furi. Why _wouldn't_  someone like Akashi be interested in you?"

"Cuz they're the Head of Economics and they have a PhD and twenty thousand awards and could honestly be spending their time better than with a lowly drama teacher who's too afraid to talk to them?" Furihata said.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Kawahara asked, "You sound like you belong on a melodramatic soap opera. But with high school teachers. ... _Shit_ , I should write that. It'll win awards, I'm sure."

"Not helping, Kawahara," Furihata said.

"Okay, look, if you can't trust your own judgment, then you can trust mine, right?" Kawahara asked, only continuing to talk once Furihata nodded in response, "I think that Akashi is seriously pretty into you, and that you should go talk to them sometime before your class so at least you have your shit resolved and you won't die in front of your students next week."

"That makes sense," Furihata begrudgingly said.

"Good," Kawahara replied, before pulling out his laptop, "Now if we're done with this, we _really_  need to discuss the budgeting for the musical next semester. That's kinda what I originally dropped by for."

"Thanks, Kawahara," Furihata said, pushing his face off the table and running a hand through his hair before pulling out his notebook and pen, "Let's get back to work."

 

* * *

 

Furihata doesn't go see Akashi at all ~~because he's a fucking coward~~.

 

* * *

 

Next week rolls by pretty quickly, and before he knows it it's nine thirty in the morning and he's sitting on the stage, flipping through his folder with shaking hands. Thirty more minutes. Thirty more minutes till he has to force himself to smile in front of Akashi and his students and pretend that he hadn't been plagued with regret and hesitation the past week.

He loved acting, but not like this.

He'd spent the past day or so revising lines in his head, mapping out what he should say and what he should mask, how he should move, how he should smile. When Akashi walks through the door, he'd smile just like he'd practiced and say ' _good morning_ '. He'd get up and greet him like he would any other teacher: friendly, but professional.

At nine forty, Akashi Seijuurou walks through the doors of the auditorium. Furihata moves to paste a smile on his face, to get up and greet them, but his voice stays stuck in his throat and his body refuses to cooperate. He sits there, watching Akashi as they set their things down on a seat.

Then, Akashi strides towards the tall stage, stopping a few inches in front of him. The other teacher looks up at him, perched atop the tall stage, and they just... look at each other for a minute. No words or gestures, just barely concealed anxiety and something akin to bashfulness hidden behind poorly constructed walls.

"Talk about it later?" Akashi asked, no hint of anger or accusation in their eyes, just acceptance.

"Yeah," Furihata said, voice only croaking slightly, "Later."

And just like that, the moment is broken: Akashi steps back, Furihata looks away, and the clock ticks on.

"I'll introduce you to the class and talk about the exercise a bit, and then we can get started, alright?" Furihata asked, fiddling with his shirt. Akashi gives an affirmative nod, and the two of them end up engaging in small talk for a bit to kill time (though that ends up slightly stilted as well. Furihata had never felt so awkward before in his life).

Masuda is the first one to show up for class, as always, and though he startles slightly at Akashi's presence he doesn't comment, giving them a respectful nod instead. Oshiro and Shinsato arrive next, the two discussing whatever video game the both were currently playing. The two don't visibly react to Akashi's presence, but judging from the way Oshiro dumps her bag into her chair in a manner that was quieter than usual and the way Shinsato doesn't automatically dig out his phone once he's seated, the both of them are pretty puzzled. They whisper to each other as they usually do, but Furihata has a feeling they aren't talking about pulling pranks or next lesson's project like they usually are.

Kobayashi enters shortly after, music blaring loudly through their headphones. They slouch into a seat and glance briefly at Akashi, but otherwise they go on as they usually do: not really caring about anything at all. Kagawa blasts in last, as she usually does, and drops into her seat, dumping her bag into the seat next to her.

"Oh," she said once she notices Akashi, "Hey, Teach."

The other students fall silent, watching them with baited breath: No _way_ was _the_ Akashi Seijuurou of Economics legend going to let a mere student call them "Teach". (Furihata just found the whole thing ridiculously amusing.)

"Good morning, Kagawa," Akashi replied, huffing slightly, "I see you're just as boisterous in the morning as you are in my class."

"What can I say? _Someone_  has to keep the atmosphere alive," Kagawa said, before leaning back into her seat, "Oh yeah, mornin', other Teach."

"Good morning Kagawa, and everyone else," Furihata said, before clearing his throat, "Today, Akashi is going to be joining us for this class, and has graciously volunteered to help out a bit."

The whispering between the students (except Kagawa, who just 'ooh'd very loudly, and Kobayashi, who didn't do anything, and Masuda, who kinda just sat there- okay, it was just Oshiro and Shinsato) started up yet again, and it took another loud hush before they quietened down.

"Now, while I know some of you also study Economics under Akashi, there are a few who have never met them in person. Why don't we start off with introductions?" Furihata asked.

"I want to do it first!" Kagawa exclaimed, her hand eagerly raised up in the air.

"Kagawa, I already know who you are," Akashi said, slightly amused.

" _Still_ , I want to do it," Kagawa said, and pumped her fist when Furihata nodded his agreement at her (well, it didn't look like anyone else wanted to go first anyway), "I'm Kagawa Kanon from class 3-A, and I like anchors!"

"My name is Masuda Haruki and I'm from class 2-B. I like parks?" Masuda said, picking up from the awkward silence once Kagawa finished hers.

"I'm Shinsato Makio from class 2-C and right now I'm really into rhythm games." Shinsato continued, fingers miming the actions that one would usually do when playing a rhythm game.

"I'm Oshiro Shizuko, from class 2-C as well and, _hm_ , I'm starting to like red velvet cake a bit more now?" Oshiro said, rubbing her chin, before looking over at Kobayashi, the last one to introduce themself.

"Kobayashi Shigenobu. 2-A. I like lunch," they said.

"Thank you, it's nice meeting you all," Akashi said, before sneaking a sly glance over at Furihata, "I suppose I should introduce myself too. I'm Akashi Seijuurou, currently the head of Economics here at the school, and while I've always been able to act, I've only recently started to really enjoy it. I suppose I have your teacher to thank for that."

"R-Right, anyway," Furihata quickly said, slightly flustered, "Thank you for that, everyone. I'm going to explain our activity, then we'll do a quick warm-up game and get started..."

 

* * *

 

Kagawa was the last to leave the auditorium, her bag slung over a shoulder as she skipped out the theatre backwards.

"Thanks for today's class, Teach squared!" Kagawa shouted as she hopped away, "I'll see you in Ec later, Teach! Good luck!"

"Good luck?" Furihata mumbled to himself as they waved back. Really, _he_ needed the luck more than Akashi, he was sure.

"It seems that Kagawa's more perceptive than I thought she was," Akashi remarked, looking over at him.

"Perceptive?" Furihata repeated, tilting his head, "What would you need a 'good luck' for?"

"You," Akashi replied.

"Me?" Furihata repeated, biting on his lip. Akashi needed luck to deal with him? Furihata knew he wasn't exactly the greatest person in the world, but was he truly that difficult of a person to deal with?

 _Or, maybe they're just really into you_ , Kawahara's words from their last meeting popped into his head, but he shook that away pretty quickly. _No way_ , Furihata thought, _They just probably hate me for last week..._

"So," Akashi said, the beginnings of a smile forming on their face, "Is it 'later' now?"

"I... I guess?" Furihata replied, looking back at Akashi before darting his eyes away again, "We can go to my office, if you want."

"Sure," Akashi said, with an unfamiliar look in their eyes (or so he told himself).

They walked over to his office in silence, the both of them sneaking glances while they thought the other wasn't looking. At times, their shoulders brushed, if only for a second. The contact, however short they were, sent sparks of electricity through him, a constant reminder of how close Akashi was. It was excruciating. It was nerve-wracking. It was... almost _exhilarating_.

His heart had never beat so hard before.

( _No_ , not even the time he had accidentally dumped a bucket of egg yolk on the school principal had his heart working this hard.)

The walk to his office felt like it lasted forever, but at the same time it felt like too short a walk too. Once he got to his office, things would change between them. Even if all he could allow himself to feel was this weird, painful longing, it was better than knowing for sure that Akashi would never be interested in him.

The metal knob of his office door was cold when he wrapped his hand around it. The door swung open and the two of them stepped in, Furihata pulling up a chair for Akashi before sliding in to his usual seat.

"B-before you say anything," Furihata exclaimed, hesitantly looking up into Akashi's eyes, "I'd like to apologize for last week. It wasn't... professional of me to do that, and I didn't even try to approach you afterwards, which was really cowardly of me too, so I totally understand if you don't ever want to work with me again. Which is totally okay!"

Akashi stared at him, eyebrows scrunched for a moment before something like realization flooded in their eyes. Tilting their head slightly, Akashi leaned forward and rested their head on their hand, looking right into Furihata's eyes.

"Furihata," Akashi said, "Do you think I'm angry at you?"

"Aren't you?" Furihata replied, fiddling with his fingers under the desk.

They lapsed into silence again. The fidgeting increased tenfold for Furihata, and every second that ticked by felt like hours.

"Furihata, I have a request," Akashi finally said, leaning back onto their chair.

"Yes?" Furihata asked, hands clenched tight under his desk. _Here it comes_ , he thought, _They're going to ask me to leave them alone, or never talk to them again._

"Do you know the dialogue Beatrice and Benedick have at the end after Hero reveals herself?" Akashi asked, waiting for Furihata's hesitant but curious nod before continuing, "Can you recite the lines with me for a bit?"

"Uh," Furihata said, scratching at his head, "I don't really see what that has to do with this, though."

"Humour me?" Akashi asked, looking at him with that weird look in their eyes again. Furihata sighed, before nodding his assent. Though the sudden request puzzled him, it _did_  mean that he would be able to spend more time with Akashi before the inevitable rejection happened.

"Dibs on Beatrice, though," Furihata said (hey, if he was gonna do this, he was gonna do it his way).

"You really like her, don't you," Akashi replied, chuckling to themselves softly.

"Who doesn't?" Furihata said, shrugging.

"True, she has amazing character," Akashi said, looking at him with some sort of... tenderness? "I'll be Benedick, of course."

"Of course," Furihata repeated, brow still furrowed as he tried to figure out the purpose behind Akashi's odd request.

" _Soft and fair friar, which is Beatrice?_ " Akashi said, after shifting their chair so they were sitting next to him rather than opposite him. Furihata blinked. Usually, when Akashi played Benedick, they would put on a different air, something more Benedick and less Akashi. This time however, Akashi had decided to completely forego it. They were more themselves than they were Benedick, and he wasn't sure what Akashi was playing at.

"Furihata, it's your line," Akashi said after a moment of silence, poking him on the nose.

"Oh, sorry!" Furihata exclaimed, face reddening at his mistake (and also at the fact that Akashi _poked him on the nose_ ), "Um...  _I answer to that name. What is your will?_ "

" _Do not you love me?_ " Akashi asked, tilting their head. _It's just a line in the script_ , Furihata told himself, _It doesn't mean anything_. Yet, Furihata could see from the way Akashi said their line that it wasn't Akashi-as-Benedick asking the question, it was just Akashi asking the question for themselves. Furihata's nails dug into his fist, but he made himself recite the next line anyway.

" _Why no_ ," Furihata said, forcing himself to look into Akashi's eyes, some sort of desperation to convince the self leaking into his words, " _No more than reason_."

" _Why, then your uncle and the prince and Claudio have been deceived_ ," Akashi continued, " _They swore you did_."

Furihata swallowed again. He knew his next line, and needed a moment to gather the courage to voice it. It didn't feel like this was Akashi-as-Benedick and Furihata-as-Beatrice reciting lines anymore, like it was before in class and rehearsals. This was different. This was _him_ , asking.

" _Do not you love me?_ " Furihata asked, voice confident but hands trembling.

"Yes," Akashi said, their eyes burning into him with that odd feeling once again, "I do."

Furihata froze.

That... That wasn't Benedick's next line.

The heat that floods his face is unbearable, his face as red as the other teacher's hair. His heart feels like it had plunged down into his stomach, like he was riding a roller-coaster, doing flips in his rib-cage. He registers Akashi's hands sliding into his and stares at their intertwined hands, fitting so well like puzzle pieces slotting into place.

" _A miracle_ ," Akashi whispered, leaning in closer until their foreheads touched, " _Here's our own hands against our hearts._ "

Furihata let out a wobbly laugh, one tinged with equal parts relief, disbelief and hope. He squeezed their entwined hands, and inhaled shakily. There was still a part of him that didn't, _couldn't_  believe that Akashi was serious, that someone like Akashi would even remotely care for someone like him, but he ignored it. He let himself believe.

" _Peace! I will stop your mouth_ ," Furihata whispered back, a relieved smile blooming on his face as he leaned in even closer, until their breaths were mingling, their noses brushing, their lips a hair's breadth away, "... May I?"

"Yes," Akashi said breathlessly.

Then, their mouths were finally, _finally_ , pressing together, a gentle meeting of the lips. It wasn't like the movies, where a first kiss was like fireworks and raw desire combined into a messy explosion of emotions, but instead it was like a tender sigh, a gentle affirmation. It felt _right_.

It's him who pulls away first, after what seems like forever. Neither of them say a word, both too breathless to even try. Akashi's eyes dip down to glance at his lips, and again they lean in, both drawn to each other by some unknown force. Their lips meet again in a sweet kiss, their hands still intertwined and squeezed tight. They pull away and lean in again for kiss after kiss, until they can't even tell who pulls away first and who instigates the next kiss.

He's almost drunk on kisses, drunk on the shared warmth, drunk on Akashi, and it's this drunkenness that spurs him on to nip at Akashi's bottom lip, to wind his hands into Akashi's hair as he pulls them into an open mouth kiss. Akashi lets slip an utterly needy noise, their hands moving to his waist and pulling him closer as they slip their tongue into his mouth. Their tongues entwine, and at some point during this he's managed to move off his chair and climb onto Akashi's, his body straddling the other teacher's lap as feels warm hands at his hips, toying with the rim of his pants.

Furihata doesn't know how long they stay like that, drinking each up other up like they needed each other to live. What he does register is Akashi pulling away with great reluctance after a while, their hair mussed up like a bird's nest.

" _Furihata_ ," they said, chest heaving and cheeks flushed pink, "Furihata, we're still in school."

"I- _Oh_. Oh right," Furihata replied, still slightly in a daze, "We're still in my office."

"Yeah," Akashi said, before awkwardly clearing their throat and readjusting their crooked collar and tie, "We shouldn't-"

Furihata moves to cup Akashi's cheek with a hand (partly because Akashi's being too cute right now, and partly to reassure himself that this isn't a dream, that Akashi is _here_ and that they like him), giggling softly when Akashi flushes a darker shade of pink. Their hands stop fiddling with their collar and rest there, unmoving.

"You're blushing," Furihata said, pressing a chaste kiss to their cheek before giggling even more and resting his head in the crook of their neck, "Oh my god, I can't believe we almost-"

"What can I say," Akashi said, a hand running through Furihata's hair, "You're much more tempting than I thought you would be."

"Yeah well, you're cuter than I thought you would be," Furihata replied, nuzzling into Akashi.

"I'm not _cute_ ," Akashi said, their lips pulled down in something that he thought rather resembled a pout, "I'm a very serious person."

"The blush on your face and your pout says otherwise," Furihata teased, pulling away so he could poke Akashi on the nose. Akashi huffs in displeasure, before going back to adjusting their collar and tie. Furihata climbs off them with great reluctance, smoothing his own collar and shirt back into a more presentable form.

Akashi stands up as well, doing the same. Furihata moves his hands to Akashi's hair, petting it with his hands in an attempt to make it less messy. It takes a few seconds, but soon Akashi's hair is slightly flatter and doesn't look like they just had a passionate makeout session in another teacher's office.

"There we go," Furihata said, before stepping back.

"So..." Akashi said, clearing their throat again, "I guess this means we're dating, right?"

"I'll have you know I don't just make out with people I don't intend to date, Akashi," Furihata replied, his lips quirking, "So yeah. I hope we are."

"Come to my place tonight?" Akashi blurted out after a moment of silence (and Furihata had to blink at how blunt the other teacher was being), "I mean... I'll cook dinner. There's a nice park near my apartment."

"Sure," Furihata said, grinning, before tugging at the other teacher's tie and pulling them in for a quick kiss, "Text me the time and place, and I'll be there."

Akashi moves in for another kiss again, their hands gently cupping his cheeks.

"I have to go now," they said, their noses brushing before they pull away, "But I'll see you later."

"It's a date," Furihata murmured.

Akashi runs a hand through their hair a few more times before heading out the door. Just before they left, however, they turn back to look at Furihata, that tender, loving look in their eyes.

"It's a date," Akashi repeated as he opened the door, turning to wink at him, "My Lady tongue."

And with that, Akashi left, closing the door behind them.

"Oh my god," Furihata said, hiding his cheeks in his hands once Akashi had left, " _Oh my god._ "

"I'm dating Akashi."

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

To: Furihata  
From: Kawahara  
' _wtf i just walked past akashi in the hallway and they had this giant hickey on their lip what did you DO_ '

 

To: Furihata  
From: Kawahara  
' _no srsly what did u fuckin do how do u even get a hickey there_ '

**Author's Note:**

> Whoo we made it! 
> 
> Notes:  
> 1\. The play of choice is, of course, _Much Ado About Nothing_. Mostly chosen because I really loved the dialogue between Beatrice and Benedick in the play, and I will not miss any chance to have snarkery happen in my fics. It also has an superb storyline for Beatrice and Benedick (though theirs' isn't the main storyline, it's really the better one in my opinion lol), so I would totally recommend reading up about it or watching it, if that's your kind of thing. 
> 
> 2\. Kagawa and Masuda are actually from my first akafuri fic, 'Help! My Stomach Feels Weird!'. I really ended up falling for their characters when I wrote them in for that fic, so when I realized that Furihata needed a class to actually teach I threw em in here. The other three, Oshiro, Shinsato, and Kobayashi, were made for this fic specifically, but I also ended up a bit too invested in them as well orz. 
> 
> 3\. If you haven't noticed by now, this story is part of a series. I don't think I'll ever write a sequel to this fic, but there were a few scenes that were cut out or ideas for this fic that were passed on because it didn't fit the flow, and I wanted to write them eventually (since they _are_ good ideas, they just didn't fit the story).
> 
> 4\. The little nicknames Akashi and Furihata call each other like 'Signior Mountanto', 'my dear Lady Disdain', 'my Lady Tongue', etc are all names that Beatrice and Benedick call each other in the play. 
> 
> 5\. This is my first time writing Kawahara, so hopefully he's in character? I've realized that I've really only been writing four characters so far in all my knb fic, so I'm making more of an effort to branch out and get more characters (esp minor characters) into my fics. 
> 
> 6\. A shakedown is basically a very short warm up where you shake different parts of your body? [here's](http://everyarteverychild.org/artmaking/theater/shakedown.html) an example of it. 
> 
> 7\. When Furihata and Akashi act out the first scene between Beatrice and Benedick, I think of their portrayal as very similar to [Kenneth Branagh's take on it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQHenB-Xv-g), though the two are standing a lot closer and more in each other's face.
> 
> 8\. FRECKLY AKASHI. that is all.
> 
> 9\. I really like writing Furihata with low self esteem and social anxiety, not because I'm a particularly sadistic person, but because it's just nice to see more characters who are good at what they do despite having these? It's pretty cathartic to write too, since I have both and it's just so great being able to write a character who is funny and likeable and amazing, who also happens to have social anxiety. idk if i'm making sense but yeah. 
> 
> 10\. The last dialogue between Beatrice and Benedick is actually supposed to go like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvU9GbaMY40), but Akashi hijacked the script lmao. That scene is actually my favourite, because even before with their lines and practice and bantering, a lot of it's been hidden behind the characters of Beatrice and Benedick, so it's always behind a screen of some sort. With Akashi going off the script and actually talking about how they actually feel, I think the two get to express their true emotions a lot better than if they just confessed via the script. (also David Tennant and Catherine Tate also did a [hilarious](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoIxcgJ-_Lo) rendition of this scene too lmao)
> 
> 11\. I blame 'Intense Laundry Required' for making me really like writing people making out because that really wasn't what I was going for in this fic, but it ended up happening anyway lmao. Also, Akashi flustered and blushing is a thing that we need more so I made it happen _twice_ in this fic. 
> 
> 12\. once my roommate made out with someone who gave her a hickey on her upper lip so uh. yeah that's the story behind that. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading through the entirety of this fic and my notes! Please leave a kudos or bookmark or a comment if you'd care to do so, it would be much appreciated!


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